


The Man That Got Away

by StellarLibraryLady



Series: Frank and Sammy [4]
Category: Actors RPF
Genre: AU, Friendship, Hollywood Legends, M/M, Movie Stars, One Shot, Show Business, The Rat Pack, real person fiction - Freeform, singers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:08:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8439763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellarLibraryLady/pseuds/StellarLibraryLady
Summary: When Frank Sinatra got Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis back together again on the 1976 Muscular Dystrophy telethon, fans across the world beamed with pleasure at the reconciliation.  How wonderful that the former friends and partners were reunited!  But for the principals and their friends and colleagues, it was only a chapter in a continuing story.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiism](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kiism).



> For kiism whose original request has inspired a series that would probably have never been created, let alone written.

Frank Sinatra pushed the replay button and watched as the picture flickered onto the screen. It was him talking to Jerry Lewis at the 1976 Muscular Dystrophy telethon earlier that day.

“I’ve got a friend who thinks the world of what you do out here every year,” Sinatra was saying.

“Oh?” Lewis answered.

“Yeah. Where’s my friend?” Sinatra looked around. “Would you bring my friend out?”

The cameras panned toward the curtains, and suddenly Dean Martin walked through them with a smoldering cigarette in one hand. The audience recognized him and realized that they were going to be witnessing show business history. Martin and Lewis were going to be reunited! Gasps and applause erupted in the studio, and Dino acknowledged them with a sheepish, self-conscious look into the faceless crowd. He didn’t appear to be all that comfortable as he continued strolling toward Lewis and Sinatra. But his jaw had a definite set of determination on it.

As soon as he stood in front of Sinatra and Lewis, though, Dino visibly relaxed. Maybe it was because he was with two people who had been important to him in his life.

Or maybe it was because he saw that Jerry wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation. Lewis was standing in a defensive posture himself with his arms crossed across his abdomen. Lewis’s head was also down, as if he didn’t really know what to do. He wasn’t in charge of the moment, and that threw Lewis off his stride. 

Lewis had wanted a reconciliation with Martin for years. But he’d also known that it had to come from Dino. Martin and Lewis had been partners for ten years, exactly to the day, when they’d split. After all that time together, however, Lewis could still be surprised by Martin’s actions. Or by his lack of actions. Who knew what was really on Dino’s mind? He didn’t share his unhappiness or gripes. Lewis only knew that there was a problem when Martin didn’t show up.

But now Martin had shown up, and Lewis didn’t know what to do. But Dino did. He knew how to cover for his partner. It was ingrained.

Maybe it came from empathy, maybe it came from sympathy. But for the millions of fans watching, it seemed to come from genuine affection. Dino grinned warmly at Jerry, wrapped his arms around his estranged partner and friend, and kissed him gently on the cheek. It was only then, when he realized how good it felt to have his arms around Jerry again, that Dino melted into the moment. He seemed not only to accept, but to surrender to the ramifications of what was happening.

That’s when Lewis came back to life. Dino's arms around him felt so good, so familiar, so welcomed. Jerry had been hungering for that embrace for years, and only now realized how much he'd needed that physical touch. Mind games be damned! Personalities and egos, forget them! His hunger was more primitive than that. He'd missed Dino's body in his arms. He hugged Dino back in gratitude, if nothing else. His mind was too numb to think beyond that just then. And when they broke the embrace a few moments later, there was no mistaking what Jerry Lewis was thinking and feeling. The look on his face said it all. He cupped Dino’s cheek in the palm of one hand. And the awe and sincerity of a lifetime’s regard and love glowed on his face. The perennial child in Jerry Lewis was healed at long last. Dino had come back to him.

Then Dino and Jerry stood there with Sinatra between them while applause and cheers rang through the studio. But just above the audience's approval could be heard Jerry Lewis muttering to Sinatra, “You son of a bitch.” The three laughed self-consciously because they all realized what Jerry was actually saying, “I love you for what you have done, my friend. What only you could have done. Thank you.”

Sinatra stopped the film. He knew what had followed. Martin and Lewis did a few awkward minutes of repartee between them, both overwhelmed by the momentous occasion, both searching for something to say, both wanting the precious moment to continue, both delighting in the naturalness of performing together again. 

Then Lewis had stood aside and let Martin and Sinatra do a musical number together with light-hearted banter sprinkled generously throughout the performance. Dean and Frank had performed so many times together that they could have “improvised” far longer than they had. They might as well have been standing on the stage of The Sands or Caesar’s Palace.

Then they had bowed to their wildly clapping and cheering audience, waved once more to Jerry, and disappeared backstage. Back in the familiar world of semi-darkness, pushing stagehands, and sweating performers, Dean had stopped Frank.

“Where are we going, Frank?”

“Home.”

Dino had looked alarmed, and Sinatra had felt his heart sink. He‘d known this might happen if he stirred up old memories, old longings.

“What’s wrong, Dean?

Dean couldn’t seem to form words.

“What do you want to do, Bucko?”

Martin had looked at him in confusion. “I--I don’t know.”

“What does your gut tell you?”

Dino had looked wild.

Sinatra had grabbed a quick breath and steeled himself. “Then, how about further south of your gut? What does that tell you?”

Then Dino’s face had cleared of confusion. In fact, he had beamed. “Oh, Frank.” Then he sobered. “I got to stay. You know I do. I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“I can’t help it. I love him.”

“I know.”

“It all came back. Being close to him like that again. Holding him. Embracing him. Kissing him.” He frowned. “I want more.”

“I know you do, Bucko.”

“It’s been so long. We fit so well. And I don’t mean just on stage in a routine.”

“I realize that, too.”

Dino had glanced back toward the stage. They could both hear Jerry‘s voice introducing the next act. “Damn telethon will last for hours yet.”

“You’ve waited this long, Bucko. Another few hours won’t matter.”

Dino’s face had darkened. “They might be the hardest.” Then he had stared at his friend. “How could you do this, knowing the probable outcome?”

“Because I love you. And I love you enough to aim you toward another guy and tell you to go for it. Because I want you to be happy.”

“Ain’t I about the luckiest dumb Dago to hit this part of the world in awhile?” Dino had wet his lips. “I want you to know that, if there wasn’t a Jerry--”

“But there is,” Sinatra had said, businesslike. 

“I love you, too, Frank.”

“I know you do.”

“I’m just not, well--”

“Just not IN love with me. I know that, too.”

“You know I try to show you my appreciation--”

“I know. And you do.”

“And I will for this, too. I know you like variety in that area. I‘ll be back. That‘s a promise. And I‘ll give you all the variety you desire.”

“And you know that I like adventure.” He had given Dino a significant look. “In that area.”

“And you’ll have it. I’ll have you yodeling.” A wicked grin had followed. “You won’t even recognize yourself.”

“Yeah. Promises, promises.”

“I make good on my promises, Frankie.”

“I know you do.”

“Just, not tonight.”

Sinatra had sighed. “I know, Bucko.”

 

A knock on his dressing room door brought Sinatra back to the present. He paused with the glass of liquor partway to his lips and glanced at the clock. Midnight. The start of Hell. The wee, small hours of the morning. He set the glass down and opened the door.

Sammy Davis, Jr. looked at him anxiously. “I came as soon as I could.”

“Not as soon as I needed you, Bucko,” Sinatra answered as he turned and headed back for his drink. He frowned as he picked up the glass. This time, the liquor got to burn its way down his eager throat. He stared back at Davis. “But you’re here now. That’s what counts.”

“I was in Tahoe. My driver straightened out a few roads getting me here.”

“Pay that man well.”

“I did.” He studied Sinatra. “I saw what you did on the telethon today.”

Sinatra frowned and took another sip of his drink. “Yeah.”

“Sorry.”

Sinatra smirked at Sammy. “You’re probably the only person in the world who’s thinking that right now.”

“I’m probably the only person in the world who knows how it cut you up to do that.”

“I know how much Dean needed to mend fences with Lewis.”

“Well, in a room with just you and Dean Martin in it, you would’ve been the only person realizing that.”

“Jerry needed it, then.”

“I’m not saying that Dean didn’t need to do it. I’m saying he didn’t realize it.”

“I think on some level, he realized it.”

“You’re being generous.”

“I love him.”

“We all love him. That’s not the problem. Falling in love with him is easy. Look at Lewis. Look at you. Look at millions of his fans. The guy’s heart is at the bottom of a slippery tunnel that nobody minds falling into. But he has trouble opening up and letting people in.“ He swallowed a sip of his own drink. “He can get pretty closed mouth, too. But everyone wants to be around Dino. Everyone loves him. Sometimes, though, it’s just tough shit trying to LIKE him.”

Sinatra frowned with the pain in his soul. “He has trouble relating.”

“He runs roughshod over all of us.”

Sinatra’s smile was sad when he looked up. “And we just keep putting ourselves in his path, don’t we? Wonder why?”

“We just keep thinking he’ll figure it out. We just keep HOPING he’ll need us half as much as we need him.”

“And that’s the challenge, Sammy. What can we ever do that will make us important to the jerk? If you figure it out, Jerry would love to know.”

“Of course, we could just do what Lewis has done every time he's ragged about Dean. Just open a vein and let the world watch us bleed out.”

“Jerry does more than that, Bucko. He opens an artery,” Sinatra mumbled as he dumped more ice in his glass and added whatever alcohol was in the bottle closest to his reaching hand. “Lifeblood pumps out of his big heart, but not enough to kill him. That would be too easy. Lewis loves big, he hurts big. Dean hurt him bad. But Jerry has an advantage. Dean loves him back, so Jerry can hurt him. And does. Jerry just doesn't realize the power he's got. All he can do about it is lament the loss of Dean.” 

“Lewis invites the whole world to his pity party.”

“And the world laps it up.”

“Including you.“

Sinatra smirked. “Including me, stupid jerk that I am.“

Sammy studied Frank with his one good eye, then reached up to caress Sinatra's face with his hand. "With the biggest heart I've ever seen. Never change. Okay?" With his whole soul in his eyes, he gently patted Sinatra's face, then turned aside. “And I know just how big that heart is, even if that heart broke when you proved your love for Dean today. You wanted him to have what he needed, didn't you? Even if he didn't realize he needed it, or how much he needed it." He frowned as he looked back at Sinatra. "You gave Lewis a key, didn’t you? A key to a little love nest for two.”

Sinatra grinned, despite his pain. “Saw that, did ya?”

“I thought at first you were feeling Lewis up when your hand went into his pants pocket like that. I think I realized about the same time that he did that you’d slipped him a hotel key.” Sammy watched the man he loved so much and the pain on that man‘s face. “Is Dino’s favorite wine inside that room? His favorite cigarettes? Is a ‘Do Not Disturb Even If This Love Nest Is On Fire’ sign on the outside door? And another sign below that one saying, ‘’Cause We’re Causing this Fire, Baby.’” 

Sinatra swirled his drink as he stared down into it.

Sammy knew he should quit tearing at Frank. He also knew he was expressing what Frank was thinking. What Frank needed to acknowledge. What Frank had to accept. “Are there two special pairs of men’s pajamas in that room? Pajama tops, with no bottoms?”

Sinatra grimaced, then looked up with burning tears sparkling his eyes. “Yeah.”

“Frank. Baby,” Sammy whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why? Lewis has had his ass lubricated and lined up for this event for twenty years. It’d be a shame to waste good lube like that. Or a pretty ass like that.”

“Did you save any of that lube?” Sammy dared to say with his heart in his throat.

Sinatra looked at him over the top of his drink glass. “Yeah?”

Sammy Davis, Jr. swallowed hard to give himself courage. 

“Wanna use it? In me?”

A smile broke out on the face of Ol’ Blue Eyes. “It’s an Arabian Night mixture.”

“Just call me the Sheik of Araby.“ Sammy returned the smile. “My favorite fantasy. Frank Sinatra, all to myself.”

Sinatra gave him a tired, indulgent smile. "And the whole lousy night ahead of us. Just don't leave me alone, Bucko."

"Where else could I be?" Sammy answered softly. "If my baby's hurting?"

 

Shirley Maclaine turned off her television set and settled back into her easy chair. So Dean was with that louse Jerry Lewis again, was he? Thanks, Frank. Thanks, lots! I thought you were a pal.

If she saw that telethon scene again, she would vomit, absolutely vomit! The Hollywood scandal shows were loving the ’reunion’ between Martin and Lewis. Of course, people couldn’t get enough of it. Martin and Lewis had been together for ten years and separated for twenty. Of course, fans thought, they had to love each other and had at last been reunited. Utter romantic trash!

Shirley would believe it, too, and would be willing to lap it up, except for one thing. She knew Jerry Lewis. She wasn’t a fan of his.

Shirley and Jerry had never really gotten along, despite being a love interest in “Artists and Models.” They had the same problem with each other. They were both jealous, jealous for the simple reason that they were both in love with the same guy, Dean Martin.

But Dino had been in love with Shirley while they'd been making that film and that had really pissed off Lewis. Jerry Lewis didn’t share very well, if at all. But, somehow, Shirley and Dean hadn't needed Jerry's help to drift apart. They had just let their love slip through their fingers. Maybe Dino thought that Shirley’s belief in and practice of an open marriage meant that she really couldn’t commit to any relationship. But that wasn’t true! She had committed! Time after time! Couldn’t Dino see that?!

And, then, Dino was just gone. No fanfare, no theatrics, just gone. Shirley was stunned. Lewis could've related very well with her puzzlement.

Just wait, Jerry Lewis! she thought. Dino will pull the same shit on you this time, too!

And once again, that beautiful man will be gone. And you’ll open another vein, Jerry, to honor his passing from your life and your heart. And he'll leave you singing a torch song, as so many others have in Dino's past. Because that torch song should've been written about him, not the guy in 'A Star is Born.'

The one that got away. Dean Martin.

How the lifeblood and tears will pour from Jerry Lewis then!

**Author's Note:**

> Did you see how I worked in the picture of Frank and Sammy that you told me about, kiism? Thanks for sharing. The picture can be found at: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3326/3473674846_28a2408588.jpg (if anyone would like to see).
> 
> I own nothing of the estates of the late Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Sammy Davis, Jr. Not do I own anything dealing with the enterprises and franchises of Jerry Lewis or Shirley Maclaine. And nobody, except the late, great Judy Garland, can claim ownership of the wonderful "The Man That Got Away."


End file.
